kian
156
12The morning after, sunlight poured over tangled sheets and warm skin. Aria stirred, Kian’s arm still draped over her waist. For a moment, it felt real—not arranged, not political. Just them.
But reality crept in.
She slipped out of bed, wrapped in one of his shirts, and padded toward the window. The palace courtyard below buzzed with preparations—diplomats arriving, expectations mounting.
Kian watched her from the bed, dark eyes sharp. “Don’t disappear on me,” he said.
“I’m not,” she replied softly. “Just wondering when this goes back to being duty.”
He stood, shirtless, lean muscles flexing as he crossed the room. “It never was,” he said, backing her into the wall, hands on her hips
Aria didn’t expect to feel anything on her wedding night. The marriage was arranged—cold, political, strategic. Kian, her new husband, was powerful, distant, and sinfully gorgeous… but they barely knew each other.
In their candlelit chamber, silence hung thick. She stood by the window, arms crossed, heart racing—not from nerves, but from the tension between them.
“You don’t have to pretend,” she said. “We can get through this like a business deal.”
Kian walked up behind her, his breath warm on her neck. “What if I don’t want to pretend?”
She turned, startled—and then his lips were on hers. Slow. Demanding. Possessive.
Their kiss deepened, hands exploring, months of unspoken curiosity erupting all at once. He lifted her effortlessly, laying her onto the silk-covered bed like a secret he was finally allowed to uncover.
“You’re not a deal to me, Aria,” he whispered against her skin. “You’re mine.”
And that night, their marriage stopped being about duty—and started burning with desire.
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